An Olympic hockey champion came to town this morning to help inspire the next generation – whether they lace up skates or not.
Katie Weatherston, who played forward, won a gold medal in 2006 with the Canadian women’s hockey team.
Earlier today she hit the ice with local hockey players before speaking with students from White Pines, Korah, and Superior Heights.
The Thunder Bay native has a remarkable hockey resume – including gold and silver medal runs with Team Canada at the world championships, and a season at Dartmouth College where she scored 38 goals in 31 games on the way to earning her psychology degree.
Throughout that time, she got to play with great players like Hayley Wickenheiser, Cassie Campbell, and Caroline Ouellete on the juggernaut squad that dominated the 2000s.
Weatherston didn’t decide to pursue playing in the Olympics until she was 18, and when she attended the Team Canada camp several years later she wasn’t expected to make the team.
“It was kind of late that I said I wanted to go play at the Olympics and set that goal but it just showed you that you're never too old or it's never too late to set a goal,” she told SooToday.
“I wasn't supposed to make that team. I was there for the experience, I was kind of told, so I was pretty fortunate to get to go.”
As impressive as her hockey background is, Weatherston talked with students about something much more universal – overcoming tough situations when you’re faced with adversity.
After suffering a career-ending concussion in 2009, her hockey career was cut short at just 25.
“When life throws you a curve ball, you’ve got to make some changes, and I touch a little bit on the mental health challenges when you go through such a big obstacle,” she said.
“At the young age of 25 my career was over, and I still suffer with eye issues from my concussions and daily headaches.”
Despite those challenges, Weatherston pivoted – going on to become a teacher, realtor, motivational speaker, hockey school operator, and even the owner of a rescue farm for animals.
Today’s trip to the Sault was meant to show young people how to “push through those hard times on the way to achieving our dreams and goals.”
Young people enjoy seeing Weatherston's gold medals and the torch she ran with in the 2010 Olympics.
“I really enjoy working with kids, and just seeing their eyes light up when they see the medal is something pretty special,” she said.
During her talk she also described setting goals and trying to make progress each day to get closer to achieving them.
“Every day we're trying to improve, get better, move on to the next thing,” she told students at White Pines.
For Steve Caruso, Korah principal who spearheaded the Alliance Academy for youth sports, bringing in Weatherston to talk with youth hockey players and other students was an opportunity he was excited to help offer.
“She played in the Olympics, a world championship, and has gold medals, but she suffered concussions and injuries and mental health issues, so it's nice to hear her story and how she can build some resiliency in our kids,” he told SooToday.
“Same with these guys – you're going to have struggles. It's a matter of what you do.”